Cutting Edges of the F-35 Lightning

| published May 3, 2016 |

By Thursday Review staff

At the Marine Base at Cherry Point, North Carolina, a new Marine Corps F-35 Lightning II I positioned on the flight line at an air show. The stealth fighter plane is loaded with scores of top secret technologies, cutting edge weapons and high tech tools, and the F35 was designed to be a part of the next generation of aerial assets for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Army. It combines extreme high speed with agility, along with stealth abilities.

The plane also uses state-of-the-art computer and imaging technology to allow its pilots to see in virtually all directions by the use of tiny sensors, cameras and data capture devices embedded in the skin of the plane.

The Pentagon wants the F-35 to be a game-changer in aerial combat, but some critics are concerned that the program is not only way over budget, but that the high tech planes and their complex computerized systems may not ever reach the point where they can be reliably used in actual combat if needed.

Thursday Review will present a long form look at the new F-35 Lightning later in May.

Related Thursday Review articles:

USS Zumwalt Begins Sea Trials; R. Alan Clanton; Thursday Review; December 8, 2015.

USS Milwaukee is Commissioned; Keith H. Roberts; Thursday Review; November 23, 2015.